| Charles Duelfer
Identified as: former chief U.S. weapons inspector (in Iraq
during the administration of George W Bush); led the CIA’s Iraq Survey
Group; author of Hide and Seek: The Search for Truth in Iraq
Undisclosed industry ties: Duelfer is chairman and special advisor to the CEO of Omnis,
a consulting firm with a national security and intelligence focus.
Omnis was part of team of contractors assembled by SAIC that in December
2007 won a 5-year contract worth up to $1 billion with the Defense
Intelligence Agency.49
Other clients are not disclosed on its website. According to Duelfer’s
bio on the firm’s website, he is also currently "consulting on a range
of intelligence and security management topics.”50
Media commentary: Duelfer has made multiple appearances on PBS NewsHour and NPR to discuss Syria, as well as being quoted in The Nation and The Guardian. He has commented on the quality of intelligence in Syria and the plan to find and destroy their supply of chemical weapons.51
From PBS NewsHour (September 16, 2013):
IFILL: You mentioned Iraq. How does this compare to
Syria, another place where the leader came out and said I’m going to
give up my weapons and then someone had to enforce that?
DUELFER: Well, I think implicitly or explicitly, the threat of force
is there. Certainly, Bashar al-Assad will have noticed that the
president gave a speech basically saying he was going to conduct a
military strike. In the book of Obama, I think he is guilty, but he
suspended the sentence. So whether or not the Security Council agrees to
the use of force, the United States will.52
Adam Ereli
Identified as: Former State Department deputy spokesperson; former ambassador to Bahrain; former State Department diplomat to Syria
Industry ties: Ereli recently joined public relations firm Mercury LLC
as vice chairman and co-leads its international affairs team. Defense
and homeland security are both listed among his focus industries on the
firm’s website.53
Media commentary: Ereli made an appearance on Fox News,
shortly after the chemical attacks were discovered, repeatedly calling
for an attack on Syria: "If it is demonstrated that chemical weapons
were used, then force is not an option, it’s a necessity.” He reiterated
his point on Twitter with a link to the interview: "The question is not
whether the US should respond with force to the use of WMD in Syria,
but how much force to use.”54
Ereli has also made appearances in international press, including an interview on France 24 and quotes in the Telegraph, Voice of America, and the United Arab Emirates’ Khaleej Times and The National,
all calling for an attack on Syria and suggesting inaction could
threaten national security. He made another appearance on Fox News as
well with a similar message.55
From The National (9/8/2013):
"First of all, Obama made it clear that he wants to act.
He doesn’t want Bashar [Al Assad, the Syrian president] and the Syrian
regime to use chemical weapons with nothing done about it, but he also
wants America to be united in this action,” Mr Ereli said. "That’s why
he asked Congress to vote on it although he does not constitutionally
need that. Will he get it? I hope so because if he doesn’t it will be a
disaster for the United States, a disaster for Syria and a disaster for
the whole region.”56
Disclosure: Of all the media outlets that interviewed Ereli, only The National
noted that he is "now a diplomatic consultant.” It is unclear if Ereli
was already under contract with Mercury when he made appearances on Fox
and other quotes in the international press.
Michèle Flournoy
Identified as: Former Undersecretary of Defense
Industry ties: Flournoy has been a senior advisor at the Boston Consulting Group
since mid-2012 in the firm’s worldwide public sector practice, to
"provide advice on driving change in the government arena to BCG teams
and the government they are supporting around the world.”57
According to Wikileaks State Department cables, past Boston Consulting
Group clients have included the government of the United Arab Emirates
and Kazakhstan.58
The firm has also opened a major office in Dubai, which plays a
"strategic role in serving clients throughout the fast-growing Gulf and
MENA (Middle East North Africa) regions.”59
Flournoy is also a cofounder and president of the Center for a New American Security, a director at the Atlantic Council and a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (see below).60
Media commentary: Flournoy appeared on MSNBC expressing support for a strike on Syria:
FLOURNOY: Look, I think there are very important stakes
involved here: first, the issue of upholding the international norm
against the use of chemical weapons; second, U.S. credibility and
leadership in the world and third, knowing that the rest of the world is
watching. What messages does Iran take from either action or inaction?
So I do think that limited, focused strikes, focused on deterring
further use of chemical weapons, degrading Assad`s ability to carry out
such attacks, that those are something we need to support and we need to
do. But I also think we need to better explain to the American people
and to Congress the stakes involved and the risks of not acting, what
that would mean.61
Disclosure: MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell noted Flournoy’s
position at the Boston Consulting Group, but did not indicate the nature
of its business.
Michael Hayden
Identified as: Retired General; former CIA director
Industry ties: Hayden is a principal at the Chertoff Group,
a global security consulting firm founded by former Homeland Security
Secretary Michael Chertoff. Hayden’s focus areas include "technological
intelligence and counterintelligence (communications and data
networks),” "global political and terrorist risk analysis,” and "the
structure and strategy of the American intelligence community,”
according to the firm’s website.62 Hayden serves on the board of Alion Science and Technology and the advisory board of Next Century Corporation, both defense contractors. He is also a director at the Atlantic Council (see below).
Media commentary: Hayden has made multiple appearances on
CNN to discuss Syria. He has expressed support for striking Syria and
suggested the attack cannot be "one and done.” He has also commented on
the quality of intelligence on Syria.63
From CNN’s Piers Morgan Live (8/29/2013):
HAYDEN: No, I think the United States would act
unilaterally because President Obama made this commitment for the United
States and frankly for himself personally about a year ago. And I just
can’t conceive that he would back down from a very serious course of
action in which these actions of President Assad have serious
consequences.64
Disclosure: Hayden’s affiliation with the Chertoff Group,
described as a "risk management/security consulting firm,” was noted on
most appearances. CNN’s Anderson Cooper and and Wolf Blitzer also noted
that Hayden "serves on the board of several defense firms.” CNN’s Piers
Morgan incorrectly identified Hayden as a National Security Advisor to
President George W. Bush, but did not note his affiliations with
Chertoff or any defense contractors.
Colin Kahl
Identified as: Former deputy assistant secretary of Defense for the Middle East; former Obama administration Pentagon official
Undisclosed industry ties: Kahl does not appear to have current ties to defense contractors, but he is currently a consultant to the Office of the Secretary of Defense with TS-SCI clearance, according to his CV.65 He is a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.
Media commentary: Kahl was quoted in Politico, the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg
about Syria. He has expressed support for the strike on Syria, but
concern about potential consequences that would make disengagement
difficult, similar to Iraq.66
From the Wall Street Journal (8/31/2013):
Colin Kahl, a former Obama administration Pentagon
official, said the president’s expected military action was an
appropriate demonstration of U.S. credibility. "One of the things I
heard most often when I was in the administration is that superpowers
don’t bluff,” he said. "That’s why the administration has been very
cautious across a whole host of issues not to issue a lot of red lines.”67
Brian Katulis
Identified as: Senior fellow/national security specialist at the Center for American Progress (see below)
Undisclosed industry ties: Katulis is a senior advisor at the Albright Stonebridge Group,
a global strategy firm. According to his bio on its website, Katulis
"assists clients with issues related to the Middle East and South Asia.
He has consulted numerous U.S. government agencies, private
corporations, and non-governmental organizations on projects in more
than two dozen countries, including Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen,
Egypt, and Colombia.”68 Albright Stonebridge does not disclose its clients.
Media commentary: Katulis has appeared on MSNBC’s Politics Nation with Al Sharpton and Bloomberg TV, published a piece on Syria in the New York Daily News, and has been quoted in the Christian Science Monitor, Bloomberg and the LA Times.
On MSNBC, Katulis said that Obama and Kerry had done a "very good job”
making the case for airstrikes, though raised doubts about the efficacy
of a limited strike.69
He has also commented on the role of international "silent partners,”
countries who may not support the strike militarily, but in other ways.70
Jack M Keane
Identified as: Retired Army General; vice chief of staff of the Army from 1999 to 2003; Board Chairman for the Institute for the Study of War
(see below); Fox News military analyst. He has also been described as
"an influential advocate for the surge of troops in Iraq” and "serving
in an advisory role in the U.S. occupation of Iraq.”
Undisclosed industry ties: Keane has been a director with major defense contractor General Dynamics since 2004.71 General Dynamics was the fourth largest military services company in the world in 201172 and received $15 billion in federal contracts in 2012, making it the fourth largest federal contractor.73 Keane is a venture partner with SCP Partners, a private equity firm targeting defense and security investments.74
Media commentary: Keane has appeared on PBS News Hour,
BBC Radio 4, NPR-affiliated Utah Public Radio, and Fox News on thirteen
occasions as a military analyst. In every appearance he has expressed
strong support for striking Syria. He has expressed some of the earliest
support for military action in Syria, following initial reports of the
chemical attacks, and emphasized the importance of "degrading” the
Syrian military.75
Most recently, Keane has been a strong critic of the deal with Russia
on Fox, calling the focus on chemical weapons disarmament "a lost
opportunity to achieve the kind of strategic balance we need to buffer
the Iranians.”76 From PBS NewsHour (9/2/2013):
BROWN: General Keane, I want to ask you because I
understand you talked to Senators McCain and Graham after their meeting
with the president. Do they have a sense of some kind of plan on the
table for what could be done militarily?
KEANE: Yes, I think they came away from that meeting a little bit
more optimistic than they had thought they would be. I believe they were
encouraged by the fact that I think the plan is a little bit more
robust and that degrades significantly Assad’s delivery systems, to
include airpower.77
Patrick Murphy
Identified as: Iraq veteran, former US Representative from Pennsylvania
Undisclosed industry ties: Patrick Murphy is a partner at the law firm Fox Rothschild LLP. According to a Philadelphia Business Journal
article, another partner in the firm indicated that Murphy’s service in
the military and the House Armed Services Committee "will be a big help
in the firm’s recently expanded Washington office, where the firm’s
clients largely revolve around the defense industry.” He also noted that
Murphy "would become involved in some government relations work.”78
Media commentary: Murphy has made multiple appearances on
MSNBC to discuss Syria. He has expressed concern about the effectiveness
of a limited strike and has advocated exploring diplomatic options
before using the military.79
Madeleine Albright
Identified as: Former Secretary of State during the Clinton Administration
Industry ties: Albright chairs the Albright Stonebridge Group, an international consulting firm, as well as Albright Capital Management,
an emerging markets investment firm. As noted above, Albright
Stonebridge does not disclose its clients, though its business,
described as "commercial diplomacy,” likely gives rise to significant
conflicts of interest and likely involves work with defense contractors.
One of the consulting firm’s clients, Marsh Inc. CEO Brian Storms, said
"To be blunt, the access that Madeleine Albright gives Marsh through
her global contacts is unprecedented.”80 Albright is also a director of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Center for a New American Security, as well as an honorary director for the Atlantic Council (see below)81
Media commentary: Albright issued a statement urging Congress to vote in favor of striking Syria that was quoted in the Washington Post:
The "risks of complacency and inaction far outweigh those
of the limited, but purposeful, response now contemplated,” Albright
said in a statement. "The dangers of this world will only deepen if
aggressors believe that global norms have no meaning and that gross
violations can be carried out with impunity.”82
Most recently, she has appeared on CBS’s Face the Nation and CNN commenting on a possible deal with Russia.83
Disclosure: Albright’s affiliation with Albright Stonebridge
was noted by CNN on the screen during her appearance, but not verbally,
and the firm’s business was not described for viewers. The Washington Post indicated that Albright’s statement was "released by her consulting company,” but failed to name it.84 CBS failed to mention any of her ties.
James A "Spider” Marks
Identified as: Retired Army Major General; former commander of the U.S. Army intelligence center; CNN military analyst
Undisclosed industry ties: Marks serves as a venture partner and advisory board member at the Stony Lonesome Group, an investment firm with a defense and national security focus.85 He is also a co-founder of Willowdale Services,
a consulting firm that lists "global strategic risk management,”
"defense operations,” and "intelligence support operations” among its
areas of expertise, and "geographic and operational risk assessments”
among its service offerings.86
Media commentary: Marks is a military analyst on CNN and has
made ten appearances to discuss Syria. He has expressed support for
striking Syria and commented on a range of military options, suggesting
that regime change and use of ground forces should be on the table. He
has also commented on the plan to find and destroy chemical weapons in
Syria.87 From CNN Newsroom (8/27/2013):
COSTELLO: OK so last question for you the President is
set to get this document that will present evidence that the Syrian
government has used chemical weapons on its own people. How long after
that do you think a decision will be made?
MARKS: Well I would hope a decision has already been made and that
all that is necessary now is confirmation and at least alerting the
American public that this is an inevitability. It literally could be a
New York minute. Make the decision and then launch the first cruise
missiles immediately. There should be no effort on the part of Assad —
we’ve demonstrated, or at least Assad has demonstrated an inability to
be reasonable in terms of what he is doing, so our expectations should
be that he’s not going to alter his behavior. We need to be prepared to
strike immediately.88
Chuck Nash
Identified as: Retired US Navy Captain; Fox News military analyst.
Undisclosed industry ties: Nash serves as an independent director of Applied Visual Sciences, a contraband detection company seeking Defense and Homeland Security contracts. Since 2000, he has also run Emerging Technologies International Inc. (ETII), a defense consultancy. It is unclear if ETII is active.89
Media commentary: Nash has made multiple appearances on Fox
News to discuss Syria. He has criticized the effectiveness of a limited
strike, instead supporting a larger strategic military plan to "change
the events on the ground.”90 From Fox News’ America’s Newsroom (9/3/2013):
MARTHA: What do you think should be done? Do you think Congress should vote to approve this strike?
NASH: It depends on what this strike really entails. If this strike
is nothing more than poking our nose in there and not changing the game
then, no. Because if you take a shot at somebody, you should expect them
to take a shot back at you. Therefore, this ought to be part of an
overall plan that achieves certain strategic political ends, and if it
doesn’t, if all it is is "doing something” then, no, I don’t support
that at all. But if it’s to change the events on the ground and we have a
plan on what we want that outcome to look like then, yes, I can say
support it because the President has already gotten far out in front of
the whole process with his rhetoric, and now the United States and our
reputation abroad is really swinging in the balance.91
Disclosure: Nash’s Fox News bio indicates his affiliation with Emerging Technologies,92 but neither that nor his affiliation with Applied Visual Sciences are noted during his appearances.
John D Negroponte
Identified as: Former Director of National Intelligence
(during the Bush administration); former Ambassador to Iraq and the UN;
former Deputy Secretary of State
Undisclosed industry ties: Negroponte is vice chairman of McLarty Associates, a global strategic consulting firm that lists defense among its sectors of focus. He is also an advisor to Aamina, a global investment company with private investing "currently focused on ventures in the Middle East and North Africa,”93 and Oxford Analytica, a global analysis and advisory firm. Negroponte became Chairman of the Intelligence and National Security Alliance, a private intelligence contractor association, in 2012.94
Media commentary: In late August, Negroponte was quoted in Politico
with concerns about striking Syria without accurate intelligence and an
international coalition, given his experiences with Iraq. He praised
Obama for trying to get more buy-in at home and abroad on CNN’s State of the Union.95 During his appearance on Fox News’ On the Record with Greta Van Susteren the following week, Negroponte expressed support for the strike as a way to deter Assad and discussed possible regime change:
NEGROPONTE: Well, the truth is, this is a situation
fraught with uncertainty and fraught with terrible choices, choices
between different shades of bad and worse. And I don’t think we know
what’s going to happen, but I think one of the things that is forcing
our hand and sort of giving impetus to our thinking is the fact that Mr.
Bashar al Assad’s behavior has become even more reprehensible. And in a
way, you might argue that this use of chemical weapons has been kind of
a straw that broke the camel’s back96
Robert Scales
Identified as: retired Army major general, former commandant of the U.S. Army War College.
Undisclosed industry ties: Scales is the founder and CEO of Colgen,
a defense consulting firm. Many major defense contractors, including
Boeing, Booz Allen Hamilton, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, Northrop
Grumman, Raytheon and SAIC, and branches of the U.S. military are
listed among its clients.97
Media commentary: Scales wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post calling the Syria strike "a war the Pentagon doesn’t want.”98
He has also made multiple appearances on Fox News opposing the Syria
strike and expressing concern that it might lead to a larger conflict.99
Disclosure: Scales’ Fox News bio online notes his affiliation with Colgen, but it is not noted during his appearances.
II. Think Tanks
Brookings Institution
Industry Ties: Brookings is an influential research and
policy think tank that works in many major policy areas, including
defense and foreign policy. In its most recent annual report Brooking’s
corporate donors include some prominent names in the defense industry.100 The bulleted points below give the donation level and each defense industry contractor that gave at that level.
In addition to organizational funding, Brookings has several
industry-connected individuals in its ranks. David Rubenstein,
co-founder and co-CEO at the Carlyle Group, the majority shareholder of Booz Allen Hamilton
and the company responsible for taking the firm public in 2010, is
co-chair of Brookings’ board of trustees. He also made a personal
contribution at the $1-2.5 million level, according to the 2012 annual
report.101 Another Brookings trustee, Ken Duberstein, is a director of Boeing, the second largest defense contractor in the United States.102103
Brookings employs Booz Allen Hamilton vice president and senior fellow, Ronald Sanders as adjunct faculty.104
Sanders also chairs Brookings’ Executive Education’s Advisory Council,
most recently heading up a Brookings event entitled "Enterprise
Leadership: The Essential Framework for Today’s Government Leaders,”
which featured Booz Allen senior vice president Admiral Thad Allen as
keynote speaker. 105 106
Syria commentary: The Brookings Institution’s commentary on
intervention in Syria was cited in 31 articles. Though largely
logistical and focused on analysis of the President’s response and
effects of Congressional involvement, some analysts weighed in on
intervention specifically, advocating missile strikes and offering
public relations pointers.
Michael O’Hanlon, national security analyst at Brookings, urged a
comparison between the hypothetical Syria intervention and President
Clinton’s punitive missile strikes against Iraq on NPR, saying that the
operation would be "small scale” and "over as soon as it’s begun”:
Michael O’Hanlon, a national security analyst at The
Brookings Institution, said that for all the contrasts with the 2003
Iraq invasion, the more apt comparison in Syria is with missile strikes
ordered against Iraq by President Bill Clinton, including strikes in
1998 to punish Saddam for not complying with U.N. chemical weapons
inspections.
"I’m surprised this administration doesn’t make that analogy,”
O’Hanlon said. "This operation is going to be limited. It’s going to be
small scale or medium scale and it’s going to be over as soon as it’s
begun practically. We’re going to hear about the beginning, middle and
end of it all in one Pentagon briefing, more or less.”107
Ken Pollack, senior fellow in the Saban Center for Middle East
Policy, Brookings Institution, drew a comparison between intervention in
Syria and the (positively viewed) US intervention in Kosovo in the late
1990s, also on NPR, implying that opposition to intervention is largely
due to bad public relations:
One path may be persuading NATO to get involved or even
lead any military action. That helped the Clinton administration cast a
frame of legitimacy on the Kosovo war in the late 1990s even though the
Security Council, with Russia firmly opposed, never sanctioned the
bombing campaign against Belgrade, said Ken Pollack, an expert on Middle
Eastern political-military affairs at the Brookings Institute.
"Very famously, the Kosovo war was not legal,” Pollack said. "Yet …
you don’t have people running around screaming that the Kosovo war was
illegal. That is because the US did a good job of building a case for
it.”108
A pentagonal network: think tank-defense industry ties. (click through for detail).
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Industry Ties: The Center for Strategic and International
Studies (CSIS) is an established foreign policy think tank with a long
roster of corporate executives and government officials serving as
trustees109 and counselors.110
CSIS has more defense industry connected advisors than most think
tanks, including at its highest level of leadership: its president and
CEO, John J Hamre, serves as a director for defense contractor SAIC. 111
- CSIS trustee James McNerney is president, CEO, and chairman of the board at Boeing.112
- CSIS senior advisor Margaret Sidney Ashworth is the corporate vice president for government relations at Northrop Grumman and former Raytheon lobbyist.113
- CSIS Advisory Board member Thomas Culligan is senior vice president at Raytheon.114
- CSIS Advisory Board member Gregory Dahlberg is senior vice president of Washington operations at Lockheed Martin. 115
- CSIS Advisory Board member Timothy Keating is senior vice president of public policy at Boeing.116
- CSIS Roundtable member Gregory Gallopoulos is senior vice president, general counsel and secretary at General Dynamics. 117
- CSIS trustee Ray L Hunt is a former Halliburton director.118
- Trustee James L Jones is a former director of General Dynamics and Boeing.119
Syria Commentary: CSIS’ experts were cited in 30 articles on
intervention in Syria, often advocating for greater military action
than the target strikes being considered by Secretary Kerry.
Anthony Cordesman, Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy for CSIS and a
former national security assistant to Senator John McCain said limited
strikes would be "pointless”:
Others said that Mr. Obama needs to go beyond
cruise-missile strikes. "Simply taking reprisal action to say ‘We mean
it’ does not strike me as significant meaningful action,” said Anthony
Cordesman, a longtime military analyst at the Center for Strategic and
International Studies. "It’s a pointless punitive military exercise.”120
In another article Cordesman said that the planned strikes would cause "lasting” damage to Assad:
Defense analyst Anthony Cordesman of the Center for
Strategic and International Studies think tank said if successful,
hitting fixed targets would eliminate key assets to Assad that "can’t
easily be replaced, like command and control facilities, major
headquarters.”
"These are lasting targets,” Cordesman said.121
In yet another article Cordesman said that the limited strikes would
send a message of weakness and hypothetically incentivize similar
regimes to use nuclear weapons:
"If anything, the message of a narrowly focused US strike
could be just the opposite of what the US intends,” says Anthony
Cordesman, a defense analyst at the Center for Strategic and
International Studies.
"To the world’s worst regimes, the unintended message of limited
strikes that leave their governments intact may be that that if you are
going to use such weapons, use them decisively enough to make any
international action worth the cost,” he adds. "Worse, such actions may
lead regimes to question the utility of using weapons with limited value
in deterring international intervention, like chemical weapons.
Instead, they may be incentivized to go nuclear, go cyber, or support
violent non-state actors.”122
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